Regular Session 2021-2022 House Bill 2378 P.N. 2789

PRINTER'S NO. 2789

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2378

Session of

2022

INTRODUCED BY GROVE, RYAN, PICKETT, STAMBAUGH, COX, SAYLOR,

HAMM, KEEFER AND MENTZER, MARCH 8, 2022

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, MARCH 8, 2022

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled

"An act relating to the finances of the State government;

providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for

ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint

Underwriting Association, for entertainment business

financial management firms, for private dam financial

assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for

the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,

bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the

collection and recovery of fees and other money or property

due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,

the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds

and securities belonging to or in the possession of the

Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the

Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the

courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the

Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and

all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting

moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,

authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes

to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of

section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of

Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of

certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every

department, board, commission, and officer of the State

government, every political subdivision of the State, and

certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,

association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or

collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws

imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or

other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the

Commonwealth," in emergency COVID-19 response, providing for

Federal maintenance of effort restrictions and for ending

maintenance of effort restrictions related to COVID-19 public

health emergency.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known

as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 161-C. Federal maintenance of effort restrictions.

(a) Procedures.--When the department receives funding

contingent on temporary maintenance of effort restrictions or,

for any reason, is limited in the ability to disenroll

individuals, such as through restrictions imposed by section

6008 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law

116-127, 134 Stat. 177), the department shall:

(1) C ontinue to conduct redeterminations as in the

normal course of business and act on the redeterminations to

the fullest extent permissible under the law.

(2) Within 60 days of the expiration of the

restrictions, complete a full audit in which the department

shall:

(i) Complete and act on eligibility redeterminations

for all cases that have not had a redetermination within

the last 12 months.

(ii) Request Federal approval from the Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services of the United States

Department of Health and Human Services for the authority

to conduct and act on eligibility redeterminations for

each individual enrolled during the period of

restrictions enrolled for three or more total months and

shall, within 60 days of approval, conduct and act on the

redeterminations.

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(iii) Carry out an additional check of all

verification measures established under section 441.9 of

the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the

Human Services Code, to verify eligibility and act on the

information checked.

(iv) Submit a summary report of the audit to the

members of the General Assembly, the Office of the

Inspector General, the Attorney General, the Auditor

General and the State Treasurer. At a minimum, the report

shall include:

(A) The number of enrollees enrolled in medical

assistance who are ineligible at the time that the

restrictions end, how confident the department is in

that number and on what basis that confidence is

founded.

(B) The extent to which the department has

continued to conduct redeterminations while

restrictions were in place and how much time the

department expects to need to disenroll all

ineligible individuals.

enrollees in each month in the period in which the

restrictions were in place and the basis for that

estimate.

(D) For each month in the period in which the

restrictions were in place, the number of individuals

checked for eligibility by cross-checking

incarceration records, the number of these

individuals determined ineligible and the number of

individuals removed within one month on this basis.

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(E) For each month in the period in which the

restrictions were in place, the number of individuals

checked for eligibility by cross-checking out-of-

State EBT card spending records, the number of these

individuals determined ineligible and the number of

individuals removed within one month on this basis.

(F) For each fiscal quarter in the period in

which the restrictions were in place, the number of

individuals checked for eligibility by cross-checking

tax records, the number of these individuals

determined ineligible and the number of individuals

removed within one month on this basis.

(G) For each month in the period in which the

restrictions were in place, the number of individuals

checked for eligibility by cross-checking death

records, the number of these individuals determined

ineligible and the number of individuals removed

within one month on this basis.

(H) For each month in the period in which the

restrictions were in place, the number of individuals

checked for eligibility by cross-checking lottery

records, the number of these individuals determined

ineligible and the number of individuals removed

within one month on this basis.

(I) For each month in the period in which the

restrictions were in place, the number of individuals

checked for eligibility by cross-checking wage

records, the number of these individuals determined

ineligible and the number of individuals removed

within one month on this basis.

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(J) The percentage of enrollees in each

eligibility category found to have zero reported and

unreported income for each month in the period in

which the restrictions were in place.

(b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following

words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this

subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Department." The Department of Human Services of the

Commonwealth.

Section 162-C. Ending maintenance of effort restrictions

related to COVID-19 public health emergency.

Notwithstanding section 6008 of the Families First

Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127, 134 Stat. 177),

the Department of Human Services shall notify the Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services of the United States Department

of Health and Human Services that the State will proceed with

scheduled, annual redeterminations and remove enrollees who are

ineligible beginning on the first day of the first full quarter

after the effective date of this section.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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